WhatsApp Commerce for Indian Brands: Catalogue, Payments, Opt-In Rules and Message Pricing

WhatsApp commerce means selling through chat: you share a product catalogue, the customer builds a cart, you confirm the order and take payment, and later send shipping updates. For Indian brands, the rules that matter in November 2026 are opt-in consent, approved templates outside the 24-hour window, and Meta's per-message pricing, charged on every delivered message since 1 July 2025. Payments inside chat are available through the WhatsApp Business Platform with Indian gateways. Treat it as a D2C channel, not a marketplace substitute.

What can a brand actually do on WhatsApp commerce?

On the Business Platform (Cloud API), Meta documents four product message formats:

Customers can add up to 99 units of one catalogue item to a cart, and a cart is one per chat thread per device. A sent cart cannot be edited, and a business cannot send a cart to a customer. If an item goes out of stock, it is removed from carts and the customer sees a notice. So keep stock and price in the catalogue current.

What is not confirmed here: the catalogue limits and set-up screens of the free WhatsApp Business App. Meta's public pages I opened cover the Platform. Check the app's help centre before you promise anything to a customer.

What are the opt-in and messaging rules?

WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy sets the ground rules. As of November 2026:

• You may only contact people who gave you their phone number or username and opted in to receive messages.
• You must respect requests to block or opt out.
• Outside the 24-hour customer service window you may only send approved message templates.
• Automated replies inside the window must offer a clear route to a human, phone, email or web support.
• Users can block or report you, and Meta's systems may limit how many messages you can send based on that feedback.

So "broadcast" in India means opted-in lists and approved templates. Do not message numbers bought from a data vendor. That breaks the policy and invites blocks and limits. It may also raise issues under India's data protection rules. See our note on DPDP rules for brands. This is general information, not legal advice. Ask a lawyer about consent records.

Restricted goods exist. The policy lists firearms, tobacco, prescription and recreational drugs, real money gambling, adult products, dating services, multi-level marketing and payday loans as restricted. Some regulated verticals are allowed only in listed countries and are barred on the WhatsApp Business App. The policy also says you are responsible for your sales terms and taxes, and that WhatsApp does not process, pay for or fulfil sales. GST invoicing, returns and consumer-law duties stay with you.

How much does WhatsApp messaging cost in India?

Meta moved from conversation-based pricing to per-message pricing on 1 July 2025. You pay for messages you send, rates depend on the message category and the recipient's country, and messages from users are not charged. The categories are Marketing, Utility, Authentication, Service and Meta Business Agent.

Key dates from Meta's page:

(source for all rows: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing/)

If a customer messages you from a Click to WhatsApp ad, replies of all categories except Meta Business Agent are free for up to 7 days. Unused free service messages do not roll over.

The rupee rates are not printed on that page. They sit in Meta's INR rate card files. I did not open them, so no rupee rate is quoted here. Pull the current card before you build a budget. Meta also says accounts that do not move to INR by 31 December 2026 will stop receiving delivery on 1 January 2027. If you use a solution provider, ask them in writing about your migration date.

For example, suppose you send an order confirmation, a dispatch update and a delivery update for each order. Under Meta's categories these are usually utility messages, but confirm the category your template was approved under. At 1,000 orders a month, that is 3,000 messages. Multiply by the INR rate on the current card to budget it.

What did Meta announce for Indian businesses in 2025?

At the second WhatsApp Business Summit in Mumbai, reported on 24 September 2025, Meta announced QR-code payments for small businesses, in-app calling to businesses, Business AI to work with calls, and Centralised Campaigns in Ads Manager to run ads across WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. The report says small businesses can run the Business App and the Business Platform on one number at the same time. Voice and video calling is described as expected later. The article does not cover catalogue rules, so I have not taken any from it. For payment set-up, read accepting payments in WhatsApp.

How should a brand use WhatsApp alongside marketplaces?

Marketplace sellers should use WhatsApp for what the marketplace does not do well: repeat orders from your own customers, order updates and cart rescue. Marketplaces have their own rules on contacting buyers outside the platform, which this page has not checked, so read each platform's policy before you move marketplace customers to WhatsApp.

Good uses:

1. Order updates for your own website orders: confirmation, dispatch and delivery.
2. COD confirmation to cut returns to origin. See COD to prepaid conversion and reducing RTO.
3. Restock and launch alerts for opted-in customers.
4. Catalogue sharing with repeat B2B buyers.
5. Click to WhatsApp ads that open a chat with a free 7-day reply window.

If you also sell on Instagram, see selling on Instagram in India. For a store build, see the Shopify India guide.

What should you set up first?

1. Choose Business App or Business Platform. High volume, automation and the Payments API need the Platform.
2. Get a business phone number that is only for WhatsApp.
3. Build the catalogue with clean titles, prices and images.
4. Write opt-in wording and place it at checkout.
5. Submit templates for order updates and get them approved.
6. Add a human hand-off to every automated flow, as the policy requires.

FAQ

Is WhatsApp commerce free in India? No. Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered message on the Business Platform, by category and country. Messages from customers are free, and there is a free tier of 1,000 service messages a month per number from 1 October 2026.

Can I message customers who did not opt in? No. WhatsApp's policy lets you contact only people who gave you their number and opted in. Breaching that can lead to blocks, message limits or lost access.

Can I send bulk promotions on WhatsApp? Only to opted-in contacts, and outside the 24-hour window only with approved templates. Marketing messages are a paid category.

How many products can I show in one message? A multi-product message shows up to 30 products in sections. A catalogue message shows a thumbnail of the full catalogue.

Can customers pay inside WhatsApp in India? Yes, through the Payments API with supported gateways, but it needs the Platform and set-up with a gateway or provider. See the payments guide for modes.

What is the INR deadline? Meta says India accounts must move to INR by 31 December 2026, or message delivery stops on 1 January 2027. Ask your provider about it now.

Who handles GST and returns on a WhatsApp sale? You do. The policy says you are responsible for your transactions, sales terms and taxes, and WhatsApp does not fulfil sales.

Next step

Pick one flow to start, usually order updates, and measure it for a month before adding broadcasts. If you want help keeping marketplace catalogues and ads in order while you build your own channel, see Blooprint's Amazon account management.